Inspiring Generations: Apollo spending was an investment that still pays back (Your view)

Sunday, July 20, 1969 was supposed to instantly change everything. Many of us believed that somehow, the first step on the moon by Neil Alden Armstrong at 9:56 PM Houston time would be the most transformative event in history since the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even the President of the United States was caught up in the glory of that moment. President Richard Nixon went on television during the Apollo moonwalk and told the entire world that, "For one priceless moment in the whole history of man all the people on this earth are truly one". The President went on to say that, "Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world. And as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility it required us to redouble our efforts to bring peace and tranquility to earth."

While some people do claim that the Apollo astronaut's photos of Earth taken from deep space acutely raised awareness of the smallness and fragility of our world and thereby helped launch the environmental movement, "peace and tranquility" across Earth still seems as elusive as it was in 1969. Forty-four years on, people still refuse to get along and work together in spite of the "Spirit of Apollo".

While space program-derived technology has arguably helped make life easier for all, less painful for the sick, and even longer, both real and imagined inequalities still divide us and motivate us to reject the true significance of Apollo.

Was Apollo worth doing at all? Wasn't it just part of a Cold War sideshow where the United States and Soviet Union were trying to impress the global audience by proving their technological (military) prowess by building bigger, taller, and faster rockets? Yes, it was that, but lying behind that superficial display, is one of the most fundamental and irresistible ancient human urges of all. Survival. Human beings, driven by a hard-wired instinct, have never been satisfied to stay in one spot and count on the land around them to provide everything they need to survive. We are, by our nature-, explorers.

It is unnatural for us not to admire the ancient people who first left the cave in search of new hunting grounds or a new stream to replace a dried out old stream. Ancient mariners, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Lewis and Clark, even the invading "barbarians" that razed European villages and cities all were all motivated by the shared belief that people need space to survive and grow. We humans are literally born to explore. In the flickering campfire light of that historical theme, the Apollo moon landings were as natural an act as breathing or getting out of bed and looking for breakfast.

While Apollo did not bring world peace, an end to hunger and poverty, or even the end of Soviet-American rivalry, it did inspire millions of young people who saw Apollo as an indicator of human progress at a time when wars and social strife were almost overwhelmingly discouraging. That inspiration was like a guiding light that led those young people to pursue education and lifelong careers in various fields that match the high aspirations of Apollo. The future engineers, mechanics, machinists, teachers, software programmers, pharmacists, physicians, nurses, writers, journalists, and others who were inspired by Apollo in 1969 were far more than a fair return on the investment America made in the Space Race. Let's hope that our politicians realize that some things are worth doing, even when the payoff comes a generation or two down the road.

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